Court Overturns Cover Flow Patent Ruling Against Apple

Apple has won its appeal in a patent lawsuit related to its Cover Flow and Time Machine technologies. Mirror Worlds had won a lawsuit earlier after claiming Apple was infringing on technologies it owns.

The new ruling doesn’t invalidate the Mirror Worlds patents. Instead, it only stated that Apple didn’t infringe on the company’s patents, saving the company from a US$625.5 million judgement.

Mirror Worlds filed its patent infringement lawsuit against Apple in March 2008 in U.S. District Court in Easter Texas — a court that’s known for favoring plaintiffs in patent-related cases. The company claimed that Apple needed to license technologies used in Cover Flow and Time Machine because they were protected by patents it owns.

The court ruled against Apple in October, 2010, saying Apple must pay Mirror Worlds $208.5 million for each of three patents the company holds. Apple filed its appeal shortly thereafter.

“In this case, Mirror Worlds may have painted an appealing picture for the jury, but it failed to lay a solid foundation sufficient to support important elements it was required to establish under the law,” Judge Leonard Davis said in his ruling.